During the past years, the interest in using mobile and landline/wireline computing devices in day-to-day communications has increased. Desktop computers, workstations, and other wireline computers currently allow users to communicate, for example, via e-mail, video conferencing, and instant messaging (IM). Mobile devices, for example, mobile telephones, handheld computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc., also allow users to communicate via e-mail, video conferencing, IM, and the like. Mobile telephones have conventionally served as voice communication devices, but through technological advancements they have recently proved to be effective devices for communicating data, graphics, etc. Wireless and landline technologies continue to merge into a more unified communication system, as user demand for seamless communications across different platforms increases, which in turn creates more usage, and leads to more services and system improvements. Additionally, these communication systems can evolve into new generations or partial generations of communication systems.
Various systems and methods have been used to deliver and/or request information between devices, nodes and networks in support of customer demand. In the context of networking applications and components, such as routers and gateways, networking systems are processing an increasing amount of data bandwidth year after year. With the rapidly growing popularity of the Internet on fixed and mobile networks, many networking systems often need to process more data, offer more bandwidth and to quickly introduce more features to the system while minimizing any negative impact on the currently existing capabilities of the systems themselves.
One such evolved network, for delivering improved quantity/quality of data, is based upon the Universal Mobile Telephone System (UMTS) which is an existing third generation (3G) radiocommunication system that is evolving into High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology. Yet another example is the introduction of another air interface technology within the UMTS framework, e.g., the so-called Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology.
One feature used in these communication networks which impacts quality of service (QoS) and resource control (both of which are important for both the user experience and for managing resources in a finite bandwidth) is admission control. Admission control can generally be described as the admission of a service request by a network node. For example, in an LTE communication system an eNodeB (eNB) performs admission control services for the various user equipments (UEs) which are communicating to a network through the eNB.
Considering admission control in a larger perspective of a communications system, admission control is a useful part of the QoS framework that provides end-to-end user and service differentiation. In wireless access networks, wireless links have capacity constraints due to issues such as user mobility, radio conditions at a cell edge and the like. Users and their associated services also have additional constraints such as tolerated delay, tolerated packet loss, etc. Admission control is integral with solutions for obtaining the desired QoS for users and their associated services.
Current admission control solutions typically focus on the current levels or static amount of available resources at the time of an entity or service request. As the quantity of users, available services, and the desire to use more bandwidth grows it will become more challenging to meet all of the expected future system requirements.
Accordingly, systems and methods for providing resources to users in systems are desirable.